"I'm Getting Married in the Morning..."

"... ding dong, the bells are gonna shine!"

I've been singing that song in my head all afternoon. It's only one day in a person's life that she can sing that song and mean it! Today was the most stressful day of my life that ended with wonderful family and friends. I feel so grateful for all that my family has done for me. They've worked SO INCREDIBLY HARD to make sure that my wedding day could be special for me. I'm grateful for their hard work and dedication to work outside in 100 plus degree weather to ensure that the yard looks great for my reception. They're awesome.

So many people have come together to help make our wedding day special and it hasn't even happened yet! I'm so grateful and so humbled by the kindness and generosity of people. Selflessness has taken on a new meaning for this day. It makes me want to be even nicer to those around me when I see a need.

Well, the next time I write, I'll be Mrs. Stout. Crazy, but wonderful! Wish me luck!

-Sarah :)

So Much Joy

First off, let me say that I just realized this is my 250th blog post and that Wednesday, July 29th, will be the 4 year anniversary of my blog. Crazy how time flies and how much has happened in the last 4 years. I've lived in 3 different states. I've been to Europe twice. I've had amazing jobs and experiences. I've fallen in love. I am engaged to marry my best friend. Life has treated me well.


One of the most momentous occasions of the past 4 years happened on Saturday. I went through the temple for the first time to receive my own endowment. It was such a wonderful experience! I felt so blessed to have all of my siblings, Evan and his family, and so many friends with me in the temple. The entire session consisted mostly of my family and friends. It was amazing to be there with people I love so much in a place so full of joy and peace. I've never had such a good day!



The best part about it was being there with Evan. I feel like I now truly understand after going through the temple what eternal marriage means and cannot wait to be sealed to him for time and all eternity this coming Saturday. I told Evan that I never loved him more than I did being with him in the temple. Being there with him helped me to love him even more than I thought was possible. I'm so excited to go back again and to make regular temple attendance a part of our married life. I feel so blessed to have had that opportunity to make sacred covenants with Heavenly Father that will bless my life for eternity if I abide by them.

Power of the Unexpected

My (future) sister, Noel, emailed me a link to the following video yesterday. You should read the original post on the blog on which the video was found. It made me so happy and the video even brought a little tear to my eye because it was so creative. I hope you also enjoy it.



I love unexpected surprises in life! Watching this video made me realize how much we make our "big day" into this huge extravaganza. What I've realized since being back from Germany, however, is that I just want to enjoy it and have fun! I'm so grateful to be marrying Evan and if everything else goes to hell in a hand basket that day, it won't matter. If we suddenly get a flash flood in the middle of our outdoor reception, then we'll just laugh and put up tents as my dress gets soaked! What a memory that will be! If the music stops working, then we'll dance anyway and enjoy every single moment of it.

Life should be fun. Every day. Do something today that is unexpected, that makes someone smile. Laugh at those awkward moments or moments of frustration, rather than getting mad. Thanks for this reminder, Noel, that life shouldn't be taken too seriously and that we should enjoy every little precious minute that we have!

P.S. Speaking of unexpected surprises, I had an unexpected surprise last night. Evan proposed to me again with a new ring! It's not finished yet. The ring is another ring that he's in the process of making for me. (He made me the first ring he proposed to me with. It's a silver band.) He's made 7 different versions of the official ring and is finally working on what he feels is the finished product. He's hoping to cast it in white gold and have the diamond set before the big day. What an unexpected surprise! He even made his own wedding band and has it ready to cast as well. Here I was freaking out that I needed to still find him a wedding ring! :)

Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland!

Photo via here

In a little less than 24 hours, I will finally be back on American soil. The last 4 weeks have held many adventures and trials. For the most part, I've really enjoyed my time in Germany. However, I am anxious to be home. I'm anxious to see my family, to be with Evan again, and to finish preparing for my wedding in 11 days!

I'll write more about my trip highlights when I get a free second. Thanks for your prayers and support the past 10 days since I've been sick. It has meant so much! Wish me luck on my intercontinental travels tomorrow! :)

Counting Down the Hours

Picture via here

For the past 8 (going on 9) days, I've had severe diarrhea, nausea (including one time of vomiting) and coupled with severe stomach cramping. After 2 visits to the doctor and using some basic, over-the-counter homeopathic prescribed, I still wasn't feeling better. I finally broke down sobbing yesterday. I just couldn't take the pain anymore. I had gone to the doctor for the second time on Thursday night, and he looked at me crazy as I walked in there, as if to say "Why the heck are you back here? You should be feeling better." The doctor had me lay down, touched my stomach, felt my forehead, and then brushed me off saying that my stomach was "soft," I didn't have a fever and that I should be feeling better by tomorrow. SHOULD isn't good enough for me.

So, like I said... I broke down sobbing yesterday. I was so sick of feeling horrible, laying in bed, and having to still try and be a teacher during the week too. I was so weak. I felt so alone because the two other American teachers went on a trip to Italy during the week, leaving me to be the head honcho. I was alone.

I prayed and prayed to Heavenly Father this week asking that I could be guided to know the right thing to do to get better. Finally, yesterday I decided to spend the $1/minute it costs to call Evan's mom (a nurse) and ask her what a basic prescription might be for an antibiotic that fights diarrhea.

Eventually, I was able to talk my hosts into calling the doctor and getting a prescription for me. The doctor STILL didn't want to do it, insisting I would be better soon and wanting me to come down there. Yeah, there was NO WAY I was going to leave my bed to get into a car to go back to the doctor who barely helped me to begin with.

Now I have antibiotics, thanks to Evan's mom and my hosts for picking it up for me. I'm hoping this will start to ease my pain and suffering. I still have diarrhea, after 8 blessed days, but my stomach isn't cramping as bad. Suffice it to say, I've spent so much time this week laying in bed, listening to Harry Potter audiobooks, and counting the hours until I go home. It CANNOT come soon enough. In fact, in nearly 3 days exactly I'll be home. And not a moment too soon! Hears to good health in the future!

P.S. The joke is being made constantly that I will now have no worries about fitting into my wedding dress. I'd rather NOT fit into my wedding dress (not that there was ever a worry about it to begin with), than to be THIS SICK FOR THIS LONG!

German Doctor Visit

Picture via here

(No, the doctor didn't give me beer as medicine as the picture suggests. I just thought it was funny and indicative of Bavarian culture!)

I finally broke down yesterday (after being sick since Friday) and went to the doctor last night. Going to a German doctor was definitely an interesting first0time experience, but not much different than my homeopathic/MD at home. Most Germans are very interested in natural remedies and will only use antibiotics when absolutely necessary. Boy, was it fun explaining my weird intestinal problems of the last 5 days in German, though! The doctor was very nice, kind, and thorough! He even performed an ultraound (MY FIRST EVER!) to make sure that all of my organs were okay.

All in all, when the ultrasound was done, the doctor sent me on my way with a prescription for a homeopathic medicine and some diet tips for someone with diarrhea. He also suggested to NEVER take Immodium, which I now heartily agree with. I had doubted that I should take it, but decided against my doubts yesterday to take it in spite just to see if it would ease ANYTHING! No, it just made more pain for me and I couldn't sleep most of the night because of the severe pain. I'd rather have diarrhea than the pain caused by Immodium. Words to the wise.

I still don't quite feel better today. In fact, I still feel downright horrible and feel like I have to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes. BUT... I'm hopeful now that the Immodium is out of my system and now that I'm on my new medication that I'll start feeling better in the next few days. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this bacteria gets out of my body soon so that I can get back to normal life again before I leave Germany next week!

On Being Sick

(Part of an email I wrote to Evan last night:)

Evan,

If you can believe it, I'm sick. I don't think I'm actually "sick," just sick to my stomach I think because of something I ate. Because of that, I felt so alone in Salzburg on Saturday! I walked around for hours, and finally decided to leave after I still felt so sick to my stomach. I ended up going to bed Saturday night before 6pm, explaining to my relatives that I was sick. I wanted to talk to someone in English about the problem. I wanted you to be there to hold my hand like last time I was sick.

I woke up around 1AM Sunday morning and after laying there for a few hours, I threw up amid having diarrhea still there from the day before. (Funny thing to say here is that diarrhea in German is Durchfall, meaning through fall). Because of how I was (and still am) feeling, I decided to leave my relatives' house much earlier yesterday, hardly daring to think about what it would feel like to travel and get on and off trains for 4+ hours.

But, despite being sick, I willed myself and prayed that I'd make it okay without throwing up in public. And, I made it back to safely! I brought a plastic sack along in my purse with me just in case I was feeling really badly on the train. Thank goodness, I didn't have to use it! I still feel terrible and hope that I can sleep some. The only thing I've dared to eat today was a little pretzel stick and drink a little bit of water.

By the way... did I mention that I miss you? I had thoughts of you all. day. long. Thinking of you while I rode on the train was the only thing that helped me feel better. I miss you and can't wait to see you again!

Love,
Sarah

The Country with Many Former Names

(Favorite photo of the day taken from the top of the colorful tower you see in the photos below. I climbed to the top!)

Today we were feeling sassy. We took our students on a trip to the Czech Republic. Formerly we had planned to go to Rothenburg. However, our bus driver from our Berlin-Dresden-Seiffen-Vilshofen trip suggested a city in the Czech Republic that was closer and just as cool. So we did it.

I enjoyed being in the Czech Republic. Although the language was completely impossible to understand, there were many people there that spoke German or English, which made it much simpler to get around. It was crazy seeing prices upwards of 100's of Czech Kronen for a simple souvenir! I felt like I was getting a good deal on everything when I was able to divide by 25 to figure how much it cost in Euros. My lunch was the only time I got swindled. I had fairly small portions and ended up paying twice for my drink. All in all it cost me 20 Euros, which is around $28. Lesson learned!

Here are a few pictures from the day in the Czech Republic...

Worth More than a Thousand...

All in all, I've had a fun time in the 2 weeks I've already been in Germany. We've been to 4 German states, and 1 other country. Tomorrow we're going to the Czech Republic with our students. We're in our home stays now with our exchange families and it's nice to be settled down! Here are a few pictures from just a few places we've been the last few weeks. Still 2 more weeks of our trip to go!

Me at the famed Sanssouci Castle in Potsdam (near Berlin)


Twirling at Potsdam


One of the millions of castles at Potsdam... this was the prettiest!


Bastei (This is only a SMALL view of the rock formations, which you can't see in this picture)... Germany's version of the grand canyon


Freiberg Church... If you haven't been to Europe (or Germany specifically), you'd be AMAZED at the architecture her! It's so beautiful. One of my favorite things about Germany is hearing the church bells ring. It makes me happy. Speaking of... clock just rang 6am!


Rodelbahn outside of Seiffen... we all had a blast going on it! Some of the kids went three times, although this teacher and I only went once. :)


You wouldn't believe the woodworkings in this town, called Seiffen! Amazing!


Painting our own hand-turned wooden smokers in Sayda (Only place in the world where they use this technique)

So viel zu reden...

There is so much to say and so little time. I'm hoping to write more later about my trip. We're now in our homestay portion of the trip and, let it be known, that I'm typing successfully on a German keyboard. Not to bad, really.

We've been to so many beautiful cities and have seen so much already. It's nice to be in our homestay, though! I feel like I get to use German more. It's also nice to not be in charge of bed checks and caring after our kids with every little problem that arises.

Tomorrow, I meet the mayor of the town with my students and then next week, I meet the mayor over the area. I know, I'm hard core. But, what I'm really looking forward to is going to visit my German relatives this weekend. They are wonderful people who live in the alps in southern Germany. I've visited them every time I've come to Germany. I can't wait!

So, as the Bavarians say... Verti!